Red Velvet, and Cheesecake, oh my!

Ah, Valentine's Day...

The day of love...

...which just gives me an excuse to try out new recipes,
(with my fabulous niece, Jorden)

And look for ones that would help me raise
more money for something that I love.
Pups, Dogs, or Fidos...
no matter what you call them, I love 'em!


Plus, I can make people happy through my baking.
People love red velvet, especially for Valentine's Day.
People love cheesecake.
Plus, cookies are my favorite, FAVORITE desserts...
and other people love cookies too.
So, what could be better than Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookie? 
Not much...
These are fabulous!

Chewy cookie, with a slight crunch and a creamy cheesecake center...so delicious.
I highly recommend it!
If you would like the recipe,
please head over to Two Peas and Their Pod.
To entice you a little bit more,
here is a look at my cookie making adventure...
with a few tips and tricks to help you along the way.

Lovely little globs of cheesecake.  It's really important to keep

putting the plate back into the freezer so that they are easy to handle.

Jorden and I tried a couple different ways to put these together, but here's what we found.  The best method we found was to make discs and sandwich the cheesecake in the middle.

Step One: Make two discs.                                                 Step 2: Place a glob in the middle.

Step 3: Place the second disc on top.                                  Step 4: Pinch the edges closed.

     TADA! This is how it should look going onto the cookie sheet.

 Murphy LOVES his Jorden. 

 He hung out here, basically the entire time.

His persistence worked in the end...

...she loved on him while the cookies were in the oven.

 Even without the white chocolate drizzle, these cookies are beautiful!

Jorden was an expert drizzler!

 PERFECTION!

These cookies are definitely more time-consuming than others to make,

but I think that they are so delicious that they're worth the extra time.

 

This is just one of the cookies that I will be making for my

Valentine's Day Bake Sale benefiting Fences for Fido.

The Character of People

“You can easily judge the character of a man

by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”

—Malcolm S. Forbes.

 

The character of the men and women that volunteer with Fences For Fido
 is plainly evident and simple...love and compassion.

Their passionate desire to make the life of every dog that they meet better, makes my heart swell.
They exemplify love and selfless giving.
This weekend I witnessed an event that I will never forget,
and have had difficulty explaining without getting a little emotional.

Two men, and the quick action of volunteers played a role
in changing the life of one sweet, troubled life. 

I had never met these people before,

but I'm just proud and honored
 to have just been in the same place, at the same time.

The Story: 

"On the way to Aurora's build this morning, Ken and Nathan rescued a sweet and painfully thin little girl off the side of the road.  In Greek mythology, Selene (moon) is one of the sisters to Aurora (dawn). Selene is very thin but a sweet and loving girl. Because she was lost and came up to our core volunteers, we think Selene was asking to be a FFF Fido. She's under our wings for now.We're calling her Selene and we'd love to have a sponsor to help us care for this little girl. She's on her... way to a vet partner where she's be scanned and checked over, and most likely made comfortable for a few days. We will be working with local authorities but will also take on the care and comfort of Selene for as long as needed. http://www.fencesforfido.org/index.php/donate ALL DONATIONS to FFF Savannah's Fund today will be used to help this sweet little dog who trusted Ken and Nathan and came to them this morning asking for their help. If you can, please help us to help Selene."

Directly from Fences for Fido's Facebook Page

What I saw:

Action.  Swift, purposefully action to secure help for Selene as quickly as possible.  I watched as Ken coordinated with members of FFF board to transport Selene to a veterinarian, line up the medical care, contact local authorities, and reach out to organizations to secure foster care.  In addition, posts were made to Facebook...strangers were offering food, clothing, and support for this little dog.  All of this within the hour. I'm still amazed and proud to have witnessed this event of love in action. As Ken wrote above, "She's under our wings for now." Oh Selene...You're safe. The wings of Fences for Fido are strong, secure, and full of love. 

 



 Volunteer Steve didn't leave her side for a moment...

Selene soaked in all of his hugs and by the contentment on her face,

she knew that she was loved and safe.

 Look at that face!

Quote directly from Fences for Fido's Facebook page,

"Before she left Aurora's place this morning,

Selene got to try out Aurora's new cedar filled beds.

She also had a make-shift little outfit on to ward off the chill,

and full body hugs from fabulous volunteer Steve.

Feel the love, Selene. From all of us!! ♥"

Oh, Selene felt all of the love we could give! 

She was loved, and probably for the first time in a long time. 

 

She's the sweetest girl! It's amazing to me after horrid treatment from humans, she still trusts and loves. When I first came up to her...she walked closer, wagging her thin little tail, and gave me a big old SMOOCH right on the kisser. :0)

Without looking at her skinny frame, you would never know that she had been neglected, her heart only had love...and kisses.  Big slurpy kisses!  Just the way we like 'em. 

From that day, Selene's life has been forever changed because two men saw her, stopped, and showed her that they could be trusted.  And she did.  Trust is not easy, whether you have four or two legs.  I'm still learning to trust again myself, so seeing Selene embrace love and trust, helped me too. 

My heart is humbled, yet again by the life-changing steps that this organization makes...every...single...day.  It makes me even more determined to help.  We ALL have something to give.

"We can not do great things--

only small things with great love."

--Mother Theresa (author)

What about you?
Could you take a small step in changing a life?
Something small with love?
Donate...volunteer...or share Fences For Fido stories.
Stories can inspire.
Inspiration can bring change.
Change can bring hope to those that have almost given up.
Hope gives life.
So, what are you going to do?


Un-Chaining Aurora

I did it.

Yesterday was my first fence build with Fences For Fido.

http://www.fencesforfido.org/

 

I was so nervous, but anxiously nervous.
It's the kind of nervous where it's difficult to sleep
and you wake up frequently.
It reminded me of Christmas Eve Night as a kid...
I guess this is an adult Christmas. 
My kind of Christmas...
watching a precious, sweet dog run free in her new yard.

A Christmas where the family is so appreciative and they have horses and ponies.

Horses and ponies people...ponies!

How could this not be a Lori-type-of-Christmas?

Sweet, cute dog, loving family, horses, ponies,
and an amazing group of people....BOOM!

Lori is overjoyed!

And I know that I was not alone in my joy...

Since, I think the pictures speak loudly on their own, here we go...

Aurora and I were fast friends...I'm a pretty experienced tummy rubber...that helped.

Aurora, the bouncy love-bug.

 "Smile Aurora! Smile!"

Aurora loves her play structure and hangs out there while her fence is built.

 Pounding the stakes into the ground was really fun...

and you could get out all of your aggression.

Stretch...stretching the wire fencing...

Guess who was able to put up the official sign?

Me! Me! Me!

Actually, me jumping up and down with my hand up made it possible.

Who could resist that type of enthusiasm? :0) hehe

Aurora is released into her newly fenced space...can't you see the smile on that sweet face?!

It's a happy happy day for sweet Aurora and her family.
And for me, well...

It was an honor to meet you Aurora and have a tiny hand

in the process of building your fence of freedom.

Hugs from me to all of my furry friends

and my new friends with Fences For Fido.

I didn't think that I could love this organization more

...but yesterday, well, my admiration grew tenfold.

You'll see why in my next post...

They're more than AMAZING.

 

Here are a couple more pictures from Andrea Armstrong and FFF on Facebook.

~The Muddy Butt Club~ 

~The Whole Soggy Gang~

The sign honor is mine.